Aphorisms, Enthymemes, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. on the First Amendment

Rhetoric Review Jun 2008

Aphorisms, Enthymemes, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. on the First Amendment

Robert Danisch

Abstract

By relying on Oliver Wendell Holmes's decisions as a Supreme Court Justice, I argue that aphorisms employ enthymematic reasoning and that enthymemes are best conveyed through aphorisms. Such an argument requires that I classify Holmes's decisions as aphorisms and show how Holmes explicitly rejects formal, legal rhetoric. These two moves are most clear in his First Amendment decisions, and it is these decisions that demonstrate how Holmes rethinks, broadly, the relationship between rhetoric and law. Holmes's position on the First Amendment, informed by the relationship between aphorisms and enthymemes, helps show how style is constitutive of reason.

Journal: Rhetoric Review
Published: 2008-06-16
DOI: 10.1080/07350190802126128
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multilingual writers

Citation Context

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Cites in this index (2)

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Rhetoric Review

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